Nation/world

December 11, 2006|By FROM NEWS SERVICES

Rumsfeld pays farewell visit to troops in Iraq

BAGHDAD Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise trip to Iraq on Saturday, just days after a bipartisan commission called the situation there "grave and deteriorating" and said the administration's policy wasn't working.

"For the past six years, I have had the opportunity and, I would say, the privilege, to serve with the greatest military on the face of the Earth," Rumsfeld, 74, said in a speech to more than 1,200 soldiers and Marines at Al-Assad, a sprawling air base in Anbar province, the large area of western Iraq that is an insurgent stronghold.

"We feel great urgency to protect the American people from another 9/11 or a 9/11 times two or three. At the same time, we need to have the patience to see this task through to success. The consequences of failure are unacceptable," he was quoted as saying on the Department of Defense Web site. "The enemy must be defeated."

Rumsfeld also met with U.S. forces in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, it said.

It was Rumsfeld's 15th trip to Iraq since the war began; he was last here in July.

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Iraqi president: Report is 'dangerous'

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Sunday harshly criticized the bipartisan report recommending changes to U.S. war policies. Talabani, a Kurd, said the report "is not fair, is not just, and it contains some very dangerous articles which undermine the sovereignty of Iraq and the constitution."

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Officials pledge to be gentle on fat ban, but restaurateurs worry

NEW YORK City officials are promising to be gentle when it comes to enforcing the first-in-the-nation ban on trans fats, which restaurants will have more than a year to rid from their food.

But the food industry fears the ban--approved last week--will lead to hefty fines against kitchens that inadvertently fail to remove the artificial fats from every item on the menu.

Restaurant owners say the city has been increasingly tough in policing code violations in recent years, and some in the industry don't expect that will change.

"They feel that these people are out to whack these restaurants, and it's a cash cow for that purpose," said Richard Lipsky, of the Neighborhood Retail Alliance.

City officials strongly deny inspectors will start snooping through pantry shelves simply to run up fines. The health department is pledging "technical support" to cooks before the first part of the ban takes effect next summer.

"We want to help them comply," said Christina Chang, the chief of staff to Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden.

About one in five restaurants in New York, once famous for looking the other way on restaurant sanitation, now fails its annual inspection. Thousands of those that pass still pay fines for infractions such as mouse droppings, poor cooking temperatures and improperly covered light bulbs. Over the last two fiscal years, violators paid $37.6 million.

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The cost of fat

Inspectors will start citing restaurants for violations in July, with penalties ranging from $200 to $2,000 per offense. Restaurants will get a three-month grace period during which no fines will be issued.

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Astronauts inspect shuttle

The Discovery crew, en route Sunday to rewire the international space station, first had to make sure the shuttle's heat shield wasn't damaged during liftoff. The seven astronauts prepared Sunday to look for damage from foam, a procedure made mandatory after the Columbia accident in 2003. Preliminary reports from Discovery's launch showed nothing of concern, a NASA spokesman in Houston said.

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Chimp actors to sanctuary

Two chimpanzees who appeared in numerous movies and TV shows were removed from a ranch and will retire to a sanctuary to settle a lawsuit alleging animal cruelty, an animal rights group said. The chimps were raised from a young age by trainer Sid Yost, who runs Amazing Animal Productions Inc. Yost was sued last year over treatment of the animals.

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Gen. Pinochet dead at 91

Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who overthrew Chile's democratically elected Marxist president in a bloody coup and ruled this Andean nation for 17 years, died Sunday in Santiago, Chile, dashing hopes among many that he would see justice for his regime's abuses. He was 91. Pinochet was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack on Dec. 3. He had at least three mild strokes beginning in 1998.

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Karzai: Our children are being killed

With his lips quivering and voice breaking, a tearful President Hamid Karzai on Sunday lamented that Afghan children are being killed by NATO and U.S. bombs and by terrorists from Pakistan. Karzai's spokesman, Khaleeq Ahmed, said the president was saddened over the deaths of a 2-year-old child and two Afghan teachers on Saturday--"and it really got to him."

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Lights, camera, woof--Barney the dog's new video

Just in time for the holidays, America's best-known Scottish terrier is back with a new video on the White House Web site.

It's "Barney's Holiday Extravaganza," a production that follows Barney around the White House as he plans a holiday show, runs into trouble developing a plot and then wrangles over his budget with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Budget Director Rob Portman. The supporting cast includes the Bushes, Dolly Parton, Emmitt Smith and others.